Zherdev may rejoin CSKA

By Aaron Vickers

August 7th, 2004

Russian rookie sensationNikolai Zherdev is exploring a return to his former club, CSKA.

Zherdev made the announcement in a recent interview with Russian newspaper Sport-Expressthat if a newcollective bargaining agreement isn’t in place for the beginning ofthe 2003-04 National Hockey League season, he is extremely likelyto return to his former club and skate alongside fellow Columbus BlueJacket prospects Sergei Mozyakin and Dimitri Kosmachev, despite his colored history with the organization and the Russian HockeyFederation.

It was the Russian Hockey Federation that took Nikolai Zherdev and theBlue Jackets to arbitration over Zherdev leaving to join Columbus inthe earlier part of the 2003-04 season. The Federation claimed thatZherdev was unable to leave the country based on not fulfillingmilitary obligations, a claim that was shot down by Stephan Netzle, anindependent arbitrator from Switzerland who ruled in favor of the Blue Jacketsorganization.

Zherdev, after spending the majority of his ice time relegated to thirdand fourth line duty, coupled with off-ice problems, left Russia andCSKA literally overnight, turning up in Ottawa, Canada before finallyrelocating in Columbus and joining the team that had selected himfourth overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.It is still uncertain, however, if Zherdev will in fact join his former clubif former coach Viktor Tikhonov returns to run the organization. It wasunder Tikhonov that Zherdev struggled to find quality ice time, and aprimary reason for Zherdev fleeing the Russian Hockey Federation.Tikhonov’s reputation certainly precedes him, as several highprofile Russian stars have refused to compete in internationalcompetition for their native land with Tikhonov at the helm.

Ironically enough, it was in a November 2003 interview with DmitriKuvshinov of Hockey’s Future affiliate RussianProspects.com,that part of Zherdev’s decision to spend the 2003-04 season in Russiawas “because I want to try myself with the club under thehelm of a coach such as Viktor Vasilievich Tikhonov.”

It was Tikhonov again who did not extend the invitation to Zherdev tojoin Russia for the 2004 World Championships. It will not be Tikhonov,however, who coaches Russia in the World Cup this summer, and although Zherdev has not been named to theoriginal team, there is the distinct possibility hecould be joining the club in the case of an injury or other loss of personnel.

The lack of an invitation to Zherdev may have been a retaliatory shotat the Kiev, Ukraine native passing on the opportunity to captainRussia at the 2004 World Junior Championships, coached by RafailIshmatov. Zherdev, possibly acting in his own best interests andsafety, remained in North America with the Columbus Blue Jackets duringthis time, while Russia went on to finish a disappointing fifth. Giventhe uncertainty of Zherdev’s case at the time, it wasn’t evenknown if he would’ve been allowed to return to North America and theColumbus Blue Jackets after the tournament had finished.

Zherdev, the Blue Jackets top prospect, is said to already be practicing withCSKA-2 this offseason.

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